


run away(and come home again.)

by lonelyredplanet (clodimortem)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Crackfic taken seriously, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Post-Time Skip, based on Marriage Story, crimson flower spoilers??? kinda????, dorothea true mvp tho she did nothing, no beta we die like Glenn, this happens after the ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-22 15:43:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22452022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clodimortem/pseuds/lonelyredplanet
Summary: Byleth runs away from her problems(literally). She spills her guts to Dorothea, who has a nice surprise for her.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault & My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 9
Kudos: 111





	run away(and come home again.)

**Author's Note:**

> how this fic was born: domestic edeleth fic binge > watch marriage story > bad idea
> 
> I was watching marriage story and there's this lil scene that made me think. Hoo boy edeleth. in the span of 0.5 seconds i grabbed my phone and started typing and sometimes i really hate my brain bUT YOU KNOW AS A GAY I GOTTA MAKE IT BETTER.
> 
> I am also not happy about their s-support it could deffo be better but nevertheless i love u edelgard pls live a long happy life idling with byleth
> 
> btw i don't write much but i got this out so yay! enjoy reading!!!!!!

Dorothea definitely did not anticipate to find the Emperor's missing wife to be knocking on her window in the dead of the night. With nothing better to do, she opens it, and invites Byleth inside, looking out for whatever the hell Byleth's running away from. The cloak that aided her to become hard to spot at night is haphazardly left on Dorothea's bedroom floor, and Byleth seats herself on the chair nearby with a very fatigued--emotionally fatigued-- sigh. The renowned songstress gives her a few moments, excusing herself for a minute to prepare some tea.

As she brews a pot of tea(Albinean berry blend, one of her favorites, the expensive teas didn't cater much to her tastebuds), a barrage of questions began popping up in her mind. Questions like: why is Byleth here? How did she find Dorothea? How did she find her sleeping quarters, or rather her location? Why is she hiding from her wife, the Emperor of all Fodlan? How did she evade the search parties Edelgard sent out to find her? What grave thing happened between those two that led to Byleth running away?

When Dorothea returned with a pot of freshly brewed tea and a tray of home-baked pastries, seeing a very tired Byleth slumped on her table, she pushed those questions aside to ask for another time. Her friend needed comforting, not an interrogation. With a gentle nudge on the shoulder, the songstress offered Byleth a cup, which she graciously accepted. Fleeting moments pass, with them merely sipping their cups of tea. The former professor broke the silence only after half of her cup was already gone.

"I... I'm... Uhh..." Byleth fidgets with her cup, at a loss for words. Dorothea notices.

"If you're wondering, no, I'm not mad at being bothered in the middle of the night for some tea. However, I feel like I do deserve an explanation of sorts..." Her eyes narrowed at Byleth, who sighed in resignation. Her eyes darted around the room before they fell on Dorothea's stern gaze. Byleth gulped, still searching for the words to say. Dorothea sighs, but not in exasperation, but out of understanding and fondness.

"Something happen with Edie?" Sounds like a good start, but Byleth averted her gaze.

"Was it something so severe that you refuse to talk about your wife?" She asks, lifting a brow in curiosity.

"Perhaps...." Byleth replies in a whisper. "I don't know, it's mostly about me. I just... felt the need to run away."

"Without telling Edie? To the point that she sends out search parties for you?"

"I... You don't understand!" she snaps, standing up and slamming the table, making the teaware clink. Her calloused hands grip the edge of the table until her knuckles turn white, biting back her lip to stifle the tears that are threatening to fall. Guilt immediately washes over her, refusing once again to look her friend in the eye.

"It's becoming suffocating... I don't know how to describe it. I feel like I made a mistake. I don't know. I just followed my instincts and ran away."

"You... Just ran away?"

Byleth shrugs, releasing the tension in her shoulders. "Yeah."

"Huh." Dorothea leans back to her chair, pondering about her friend's situation. "And you avoided the search parties? This town is quite far from Enbarr. Not to mention that you've been gone for what, a week or two now?"

Byleth took a seat again, still avoiding eye contact with Dorothea. "Yes, that is the case...."

Dorothea resisted the urge to massage her temples. She knew her former professor is extremely skilled on the battlefield, but she didn't know that she was also extremely stealthy. She continues to prod on the subject. "I don't see why you should evade Edie, though? Couldn't you just talk this through, like decent newlyweds?"

"That's the part of the problem." Byleth slumps for a bit, then continues after a sip of tea. "We rarely see each other. I'm _this_ close to thinking that El married the council, not me, because of the time they spend together for the reforms to the nobility system. She rarely asks for my advice anymore. I rarely see her, even at night, and the bed already feels _so damn cold_ because she's not there; she's slouching over some papers that she demands that are very important and must be finished urgently."

Dorothea stays silent, but her eyes urge Byleth to go on. And so she does, hot tears already streaking her face.

"She's just, so amazing you know. She shines so brilliantly, oh so brilliantly, that every day I'm starting to feel so small. We're not equal. She's on this unattainable pedestal that I can't reach, and she must stay there, because she's the Emperor, and I'm powerless against that title. Now, I'm just this ex-mercenary." She gives a small scoff, a sound of exasperation, admiration, and a mix of other emotions leaving her lips.

"In the war, I was significant. I meant something. When I led the forces to victory and glanced at her and she looks at me with the dignified smile that screams _I'm proud of you_ , I thought that there was something more to it. I _hoped_ that there was something more to it. That's why I put in the effort, all of the effort and time I have: I invited her to tea parties, gave her gifts, grew her favorite flowers, stood and fought alongside her in battle because all of that made me feel so alive. My heart felt like it was beating even though it doesn't. It makes me feel the rush of blood in my veins, it gives me purpose." Byleth clutched her chest, trying to quell the ache that was starting to reside in her heart.

"El, she led me to a life that has meaning! She gave me a direction to follow. El gave me a role to fill and I did so gladly and willingly and at that point, I felt like I could fly. We were both knee-deep in blood but it didn't matter at that time because I was there by her side, and that was what really mattered to me."

Dorothea just sat there, gingerly sipping her tea, unable to say anything or make a sound in fear of disrupting her dear friend.

"After the war was over, that's where it started to kick in. That she was the Adrestian Emperor, and I was just a general, a tactician that helped her attain victory after victory. Sure, we were all ecstatic, we were all so happy and just basking in the bliss. That very night I asked for her hand in marriage, gave her the family ring-- the ring that Jeralt passed down to me, the ring my father gave to my mother because she was special. And Edelgard was just as special-- no, she was more than that, she was absolutely extraordinary. Of course, I was elated when El said yes, but there was something wrong with how she worded her acceptance. I didn't notice before because all I could think of was that she accepted, that I will be wed to her. It lacked the passion, the love I was yearning for. I saw her as my to-be wife, as my lover; but she saw me as a partner in life, as a comrade to walk down her path together. I feel so damn stupid for not noticing back then.

"Now, I just can't help but feel that I loved her too much, heck, _I love her too much_ , that in the end, I lost, because I thought I married someone who loved me back, and I believe she does, but it was more like I married a person who'll forge a new future for Fodlan. I am consumed by her, she's consumed by the change she wants to happen. I feel like I'm just a stepping stone for her, to reach what she truly wants. I thought she made me feel alive, she still does, but it is me who is fueling her aliveness. I'm just feeding off the satisfaction she gets when she finally sees her ambitions come to life. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see her ideals-- our ideals-- become reality, I just wonder, if she was made to choose, would she pick me or the Fodlan she so desires?"

"I know I'm in the wrong for just suddenly running away. I admit, I was trying to test her. To test how much I mean to her. If my loss actually counts. But what hurts the most is that she sent meager search parties to look for me! She can't tear herself off her work, she had to send out search parties, she can't even spare some time to look for her wife!"

When Byleth finished, she was sobbing, and the tea has long been forgotten on the table. Her fingers dug into the fabric of her shirt, desperately clutching her chest, trying to ease the dull ache that intensified as the tears continued to fall. Her chest heaved for air, her sniffles filling the room. Sometime during her monologue, the songstress stood up and rubbed comforting circles on her shoulder, helping her calm down.

Another one of the surprises Dorothea received tonight was that her former professor was awfully talkative when she finally lets out her most heartfelt feelings. She doesn't utter a thing, afraid to say something wrong, so all she offers is this comfortable silence. Byleth clings to her arms, hands trembling, still struggling to catch her breath amidst the violent sobs.

She was just about to comment on how fragile her dear professor is, or how silly this whole situation is if Byleth confided to another person, but she remembered that the woman clinging to her right now just started to feel emotion recently, after being suppressed by the Crest of Flames. Dorothea can't blame Byleth for feeling such things, and oh so strongly. She probably never felt this way before, and considering the magnitude of her love for Edelgard, the gravity of the situation and how inexperienced Byleth is, she probably wouldn't know what to do except follow her instincts from when she was a mercenary.

"You know, that last part probably may be wrong. Also a bunch of other stuff." The songstress slowly let go of Byleth, walking to the door of her walk-in closet. She opens it to reveal a very disoriented Edelgard, sniffling and eyes red and puffy from crying. In different circumstances, Edelgard would have scolded herself, because such a look is unfit for an emperor.

Upon being exposed(eavesdropping on her wife no less), Edelgard tried desperately to close the doors again, but given her frail state, she did so to no avail. Dorothea just stood there, her look coaxing Edelgard to glance at her wife, face painted with shock and bewilderment. In the few seconds that Dorothea loosened her grip to turn and talk to the Professor, Edelgard shut the doors again with all of her remaining strength. Thankfully, Dorothea's patience tonight is endless, giving her the strength to reconcile two hopeless lesbians who stubbornly refuse to communicate their problems with each other.

"Honestly, professor, I realized that you were truly out of sorts when you, who could spot a presence in a dense forest during the war, could not sense the presence of your wife behind these thin closet doors. Now give me a moment to get our beloved Emperor to explain her side of the story. But do know this, our little Edie here can't lead the search parties because she immediately dashed here, frenzied about the fact that you were gone. Honestly, she looked like she was gonna faint, mumbling ' _oh Goddess I can't lose her again'_ over and over."

Byleth dumbly nodded; her internal turmoil evident as she blinked owlishly. With a sweet, bewitching yet polite smile, the songstress turned to the closet doors, opened it, and hauled a struggling Edelgard outside with a firm grip on her wrists. The two argued for a while, before returning to the room. Edelgard's shoulders slumped, while a victorious grin painted Dorothea's features. The songstress gave the emperor a slight shove towards the direction of their former professor, who had seemed to brace herself during their little spat outside the room.

Edelgard, whose eyes are still puffy and nose still red, rigidly approached her wife. Upon eye contact, her efforts to refrain from crying were evident as her lips quivered to form a line. Byleth, relieved to finally see Edelgard, after weeks-- what seemed to be _years_ \-- of not seeing her. She reaches out, uncertain, trying to drown out the thoughts that the Edelgard in front of her is just a hallucination. Her doubts have been cleared when the disheveled emperor collapsed into her arms, pulling her into a tight embrace. Almost reflexively, her arms circle around Edelgard's waist, bringing her closer, finding refuge in the crook of her neck. Then she breathes in, reveling in her scent, overwhelming her senses of Edelgard and only Edelgard, for hers is a presence she craved for the last few weeks. For Byleth, it somewhat felt surreal, it was a moment of bliss.

In a flash, her arms tightened around Edelgard's waist as she hoisted her up the air, spinning her around, before collapsing onto Dorothea's bed. They didn't even bother asking for permission, since Dorothea left them to their own devices a while ago, giving the couple a little privacy as they solve the rift in their relationship.

It was very foolish, Byleth thinks, for her to forget her problems about their marriage at the sight of her wife. But they can solve that problem later, all she asks for is a moment to bask in the bliss of being in her wife's arms. Unfortunately, that is not the case, as Edelgard pulls away and places her hands on either side of Byleth's cheeks, commanding her to lock her gaze upon her.

She takes a moment, taking deep breaths to steady herself, eyes closed as she carefully mulls over what she wants to say.

"El..." Blue eyes meet lilac, and in them Byleth found a swirl of emotions still undecipherable for her. Thumbs softly caressing her face eased that small worry.

"I want to start off by saying that, you matter to me. More than the Fodlan we're trying to build. Without you, I'd never reach this far, and I'd trade all of this just to be by your side. I'd choose defeat if it means fighting alongside you. I'd lose the war if it means that I'll win you back."

"But none of that ever happened, and none of it ever will, because you are here, fighting with me, giving me the strength and support I need to keep me moving forward. You're amazing, Byleth, and I mean it. Amazing does not suffice, you are someone more." Edelgard chuckles before continuing.

"Both of us know that I'm terrible with words-- no, we both are, but that's not my point. Not only am I bad with words, but it also turns out that I'm terrible with actions. It's true, all of what you said earlier was true, and it brings me great shame that I need to hear all of that before realization struck me. I highly regard myself when it comes to intellect, but for matters like these, I'm afraid that I am an utter fool. Apologies alone cannot atone my faults against you, for making you feel that you weren't enough. You are more than enough-- more than I deserve. Sometimes, it baffles me why you picked me, why you chose to be by my side, because I cannot think of the things that I ever did to deserve you."

Byleth pressed a tender kiss to Edelgard's forehead, at a loss for words. Edelgard opted to rest her head on her chest, listening to her wife's heartbeat as she continued.

"El, I--" Edelgard quickly silenced her by putting a finger to her lips, refusing to be interrupted.

"I became so engulfed in my work that I forgot that I am the wife of such an incredible woman. I admit, that amongst all these things: the policies, the reforms, and the council, I took you for granted. I thought that you'll always stay by my side, without paying any attention to what you feel during the days of my absence."

As Edelgard buried her face in her chest, Byleth felt something damp on her shirt. It took a while before she realized that Edelgard is crying once more.

"You also seemed to forget about the time that you were gone for five years. I searched desperately, left no stone on Garreg Mach unturned. For days I felt broken, trying to remind myself of the words I uttered to you when you lost your father. I tried to get back on my feet. The first few days were difficult, with the morale of my comrades low due to your disappearance. Of course, I managed, but in every battle, in every tactical meeting, in every moment of respite I was given, I was thinking of you, I was thinking like you, and what you would do in that situation. You were out of sight, but never out of mind, you began to plague my dreams and nightmares."

"I can never put into words how greatly relieved I was when you came back. It felt like anything was possible. If felt like somebody removed the weight of the world on my shoulders. That day, I almost forgot that I was fighting a war because all that mattered that moment was that you're back, that you returned, that _you're alive._ "

Edelgard reached for Byleth's hands, squeezing it gently before placing them on her pounding chest.

"I missed you so much. I _miss_ you so much. I love you, Byleth, and not even a hundred wars can ever change that." She sniffled, tears refusing to stop.

Byleth looked at her in bewilderment, pleasantly surprised at her wife's sudden confession as her face starts to color. Edelgard's face grew redder compared to her wife, opting to bury her embarrassment and drown in her tears on Byleth's chest as she returned to her arms.

The taller woman laughed mirthfully, sending soft vibrations throughout her torso. She cradled her wife closer to her heart, peppering kisses on the crown of her head, mumbling "I love you too" to her snow-white hair.

The empress' grip on Byleth grew tighter as the tears slowly stopped falling from her eyes.

After a few moments, Edelgard finally lets go of Byleth. The latter then proceeds to gaze at her wife lovingly, moving into her space again to cup her cheeks and to place languid, lingering kisses on her wife's forehead, nose, and finally her lips, where she stayed for what felt like an eternity. When they parted, Edelgard let out a contented sigh, closing her eyes to focus her senses to the warmth that radiated from Byleth's palms that were still on her cheeks. The former professor inched closer, touching their foreheads together, noses bumping together which elicited a giggle from Edelgard.

There was something forlorn in Byleth's gaze as she stared into her wife's lilac eyes. Edelgard can see the tears starting to pool in the corners of those beautiful blue eyes.

"I'm sorry." Byleth breathes out.

Edelgard's hands rise to caress the calloused hands perched on her cheek. "Don't be."

Byleth moves to bury her face in the crook of her wife's neck. Her arms, as if on instinct, snake around Edelgard's waist in a tight embrace. "But I've been so selfish."

"I gave you reasons to be."

"I left you."

"My actions made you leave."

"I promised to stay by your side."

Edelgard felt Byleth hiccuping, softly sobbing against her pulse. It never dawned on Edelgard how much her wife's actions hurt herself, more so than it hurt the emperor. It hurt Byleth to break her promise, while Edelgard was unfazed; the red-clad woman broke her fair share of promises during the war.

Byleth mumbles her apologies like a mantra amidst sniffles, and Edelgard counters them with assurances and apologies of her own. Edelgard carded her fingers through her wife's hair, fingers lightly grazing her scalp in gentle motions. Eventually, Byleth's breathing evens out, her eyes dry of tears yet still red.

Both women have questions that they left lingering in the air. Comfortable silence became tension, which slowly made its way back in the room as the pair grew silent, limbs still wrapped around each other's bodies. The unease gradually became unbearable, to the point that Dorothea's silk sheets on her king-sized bed were suddenly rough against Edelgard's skin, but her outer turmoil proved to be lesser than that of the chaos that has made its residence in her mind once more. She was knocked out of her thoughts when Byleth reached up to massage her furrowed brows with the nudging of her finger.

"You're frowning again." Byleth hovered over Edelgard to look her in the eye. "What're you thinking about?"

"How much of a terrible wife I've been to you. I mean, imagine having your honeymoon canceled for a bunch of reforms. We rarely slept together. We still continuously crave each other's presence, despite being married. Sometimes I wonder how you're not asking for a divo-"

Edelgard let out a very undignified shriek when Byleth dived down to her collarbone and nipped _hard_ , in stark contrast to the loving bites that Byleth left on her body during more intimate times. _That was going to leave a nasty bruise._

The teal-haired woman moved again to look her wife in the eyes, a stern expression on her face. "A punishment," she huffed, "for saying all those bad stuff about yourself. And about _us_."

After a quick peck to her wife's lips, she continued. "I know you did all those stuff for a reason. I understand. You were doing it for Fodlan's future. I know."

Edelgard let out a sigh, a fond smile creeping to her lips afterward. Placing a tender kiss on her wife's forehead with a sense of finality, Byleth then tugged her close, bodies closest as they can be. Her strong arms then wrapped around her wife, effectively trapping her into her place, leaving no room to push them apart but enough to leave Edelgard comfortable. Edelgard let out another surprised shriek, which elicited a giggle from her wife. "But I don't really want to talk about it right now. Tonight, we sleep. I can tell you haven't slept soundly recently."

Byleth was no stranger to Edelgard's dark circles, nevertheless, her heart ached whenever she sees Edelgard with such sullen eyes. Edelgard gave a nod, her drowsiness overcoming her, as she shifted in Byleth's tight embrace to rest her head on her chest, ears pressed to listen to her heartbeat. Eventually, Byleth's breathing slowed, to be followed by soft snoring.

Who knew that the Emperor's favorite lullaby was the song of life that her wife's heart sings?

**Author's Note:**

> so that's that! i hope u enjoyed!
> 
> fun fact 1: this fic uses "her wife" by a grand total of 23!
> 
> fun fact 2: this is the longest fic i've ever written holy schmoly edeleth rlly hit that hard huh
> 
> bulli me into writing more over at twitter @hubricyst (spoiler alert i am also not v active but I Try My Best™ so let's talk okay? <33333)


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